ESG Standards in Africa: Adapting Global Norms to Local Realities

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards cannot be simply transposed to Africa without accounting for the continent’s specific economic, energy, and technological realities. This was a key takeaway from a panel dedicated to ESG standards for Africa, held on Thursday, September 24, in Tunis, as part of the Annual Day of Administrators organized by the Tunisian Institute of Administrators (ITA).

The Challenge of Perception and Context

Christian de Boissieu, Professor Emeritus at the Sorbonne and President of the ITA’s Scientific Council, noted that the current international context complicates the advancement of ESG policies. He cited geopolitical tensions, fluctuating energy prices, and shifting attitudes toward climate policies as major factors. However, he emphasized that beyond these external forces, there is a fundamental issue regarding how ESG standards are perceived.

“Authorities have lacked sufficient pedagogical outreach on this subject,” he stated. According to de Boissieu, companies often tend to view ESG standards as constraints rather than opportunities. The goal, therefore, is to shift the perspective toward the long term: “What matters is the long term. What matters is the long-term social, economic, and financial return.”

This reflection leads directly to the question of adapting standards to the African context. De Boissieu argued that Africa should not automatically replicate regulations designed elsewhere. “There is no model. France is not a model; it is an experience. Europe is not a model; it is an experience,” he emphasized.

He urged African countries to draw inspiration from international standards while considering their own constraints. “No mechanical replication of what is decided here or there,” he insisted, advocating for an approach that better accounts for local specificities.

Energy: A Concrete Case for Adaptation

The energy sector particularly illustrates this challenge. Sofiane Gaied, CEO of Panoro Energy, reminded the audience that Africa must simultaneously pursue two objectives: achieving its energy transition and ensuring greater energy access for its population.

While the continent holds significant potential in solar, wind, and hydropower, converting these resources into available energy requires infrastructure, grids, storage solutions, and, crucially, financing.

“In Africa, the solution is different,” Gaied highlighted. He argued that ESG standards must integrate the continent’s level of energy development and not merely replicate criteria applied in developed economies.

This distinction is particularly evident when discussing fossil fuels. Gaied called for avoiding overly rigid approaches. “We must strike a balance and look at what these fossil fuels can offer in terms of energy supply, energy accessibility, and what they replace.”

He cited the example of a gas-fired power plant, which, in certain African contexts, could replace more carbon-intensive solutions. Hence, he called for including transition investments in ESG analysis: “These are investments that are neither polluting nor entirely green.”

He added another critical criterion: energy access. “We cannot treat a project in Europe that ignores the social aspect (…) the same way as a project in Africa that uses, for example, gas to provide energy access to people who have never had it before.”

Opportunities, Constraints, and the Role of Technology

Amine Oussedik, CEO of MDI-Algiers Business School, noted that ESG standards represent both an opportunity and a constraint for African businesses. They can help attract foreign direct investment, support economic diversification, and improve resource management. However, implementation also entails costs related to reporting, compliance, and new procedures.

This equation is particularly sensitive for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which make up a large portion of the African economic fabric. “Introducing ESG standards is truly an internal cultural revolution,” he estimated, emphasizing the need for pedagogical support and training.

Technology can facilitate this transformation, according to Alexandre Grux, CTO of DiliTrust. Its primary contribution is enabling companies to better measure and document their performance. Under new environmental requirements, data becomes a key element of proof, allowing companies to demonstrate their actual performance rather than being evaluated based on default values.

However, this growing dependence on technology also creates new risks. “Technology is an accelerator and a facilitator, but it comes with the condition of having good infrastructure,” he reminded the audience.

For African companies, Grux identified three key challenges: data sovereignty, cybersecurity, and the availability of data that is sufficiently representative of local realities. “We must really do the work of capturing your activity data, infrastructure data, and risk data,” he insisted.

These data will also be used in the future to feed evaluation systems and artificial intelligence models. Therefore, the challenge for African companies is no longer just about complying with ESG standards, but also about possessing the data necessary to concretely demonstrate their performance and risks.

Conclusion: Building a Balanced Framework

At the end of the debate, one idea emerged: the challenge for Africa is not to choose between international standards and local specificities, but to build a framework capable of accommodating both. For Christian de Boissieu, this evolution will necessarily require greater cooperation: “I am here to share experiences; it is not the same as coming to lecture.”